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<title>Key to your heart by PinkLotus (EspurrsVena)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29176119">Key to your heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspurrsVena/pseuds/PinkLotus'>PinkLotus (EspurrsVena)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>JO1 (Japan Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, RENKUMI_0203, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, kawakawa_connecting, no beta we die like real men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:34:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,772</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29176119</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspurrsVena/pseuds/PinkLotus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The gift was something small and maybe not as significant as in the movie they had watched, yet it meant a lot to Ren to give it to Takumi.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kawanishi Takumi/Kawashiri Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Key to your heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>5 minutes before 7pm and Ren became more nervous each second.  <br/>He shouldn’t be nervous. Today was just a normal date night with Takumi like it happened on every Friday evening they had off. They would eat dinner together, watch a movie and maybe Takumi would stay over to sleep in his room. At least that was the routine part of the night, but Ren had also planned something else.  </p><p>Actually, the silver haired dancer had prepared a small but important gift for the other one and this was what made him nervous. It felt like he was making a step forward with their relationship by giving his room key to the other one. But he wasn’t sure how Takumi would react. If the pink haired one was ready for it. </p><p>Because they already lived together - all group members lived in a dorm together - moving together was out of question. Their rooms were too small and Takumi’s sneaker collection already took up more room than Ren’s game and white socks collection together. There was no way that all their stuff would fit into one room. They would have to use one room for living and another one for storing. That could have been an option if they lived on the same floor, yet there were even more circumstances that made it impossible to realise. </p><p>One of them was surely Takumi’s private side. The pink haired one needed some place to retract and recharge. Ren was more willing to give it to him, so he endured it for months that he wasn’t allowed to enter the other one’s room. Sure, he had been curious how it looked like and when Takumi finally invited him over, he was delighted. He felt like a kid who finally got that toy he was wishing for months.   </p><p>However, once finally he entered the room, he wasn’t as half exciting as he imagined it. Actually, all their rooms indeed looked the same though Ren had to admit that Takumi’s sneaker collection was notable. Also, the cleanness of his room was impressive. While Ren had thought his room had been clean already, Takumi’s one was another level. There wasn’t any particle of dust to be seen and all his sneakers looked brand new. If he didn’t know about the younger one’s cleaning routine, he would have thought that no one lived in that room.   </p><p>This cleanness was another reason why no one was allowed to enter Takumi’s room. He wanted it to stay like that, but unfortunately some members had a very different definition of “clean”. The pink haired one had told Ren that his room was still acceptable, but for example the way Sho’s room looked after another random meeting of the members was something Takumi couldn’t stand, thus often he ended help helping their leader in cleaning the mess the others had created.   </p><p>While Takumi always locked his room to keep his privacy and cleanness, Ren was the opposite. Unless he left it for practise or a schedule, the door was never locked. They lived in the middle of nowhere, so there would be no thief coming when he was over in Sho’s room for example. Not to mention if someone entered the dorm, they would have to pass Sho’s room before reaching Ren’s one, thus they wouldn’t go unnoticed.   </p><p>Still, Ren kept his door open, so that any of the members could come over at any time they wanted to - no matter if it was over gaming, cooking together or something else. With this action he wanted to signalise that he would be always there for them in every situation.   <br/>Thus, actually, giving Takumi his room key was not needed but he wanted to do that.  </p><p>Since last week when they watched some sappy romance movie together, Ren had thought about this idea. During that movie the protagonist had given his significant other the key for their house to signalise that they wanted to live together. The idea was actually cute but their actual situation made it somewhat unnecessary. But then again, Ren wanted to do something romantic and meaningful for Takumi. He might not be someone of grand gestures – he preferred small and constant ones – but that thought didn’t leave his mind.   </p><p>Sure, also that gift looked like something small but the meaning was far from small. As the movie suggested, giving the key to your home to your significant other was a grand gesture, because it implied that you wanted to share more of your life with them. Clearly, they were already huge parts of their lives with each other but that was due to the nature of their work.   </p><p>Because of this there was some anxiety inside of Ren whether Takumi would accept this gift and take this small step. Their situation was surely unique and much different from what they have seen in that movie. Nonetheless, a refusal would hurt Ren in a way. Love was something complicated.  </p><p>While he was deep in thoughts about his plan for the evening, he finally heard the knock he was waiting for. He did the key in the pocket of his hoodie before opening the door.   <br/>As always Takumi brought over cola, snacks and his laptop, so they could watch some movies together. It seemed like he had just finished taking a bath because his hair was wet still. It made him look adorable.  </p><p> “Hey Takkun. Did you eat dinner already or are the snacks your dinner again?”, Ren greeted the other one with a hug.   <br/>“I had no dinner yet. Did you prepare something?”  <br/>“I just made salad for me earlier. I still have some leftovers to make one for you, too.”  <br/>“Okay, the snacks are my dinner.”  </p><p> Ren was often impressed by Takumi’s metabolism. He could eat junk food all day, but he didn’t gain any weight from it. One could argue that’s because of their intensive training, but even before becoming an artist the pink haired one ate a lot of junk food and stayed skinny. Ren had always thought that his metabolism was working fast, but once again Takumi was another level. “Vegetables won’t hurt you.”  <br/>“Cola won’t hurt me either.”  </p><p> Ren knew he had no chance to convince him otherwise so he just took his bowl of salad and moved with his boyfriend to the other room. Lacking a sofa, they made themselves comfortable on Ren’s bed and Takumi opened his laptop. It seemed like he had chosen a movie already, but Ren didn’t mind. He pretty much watched everything and rarely complained about the choices from others.  </p><p> As he had expected already, Takumi had chosen a rather sad anime movie. Near the end of it – one of the characters was about to die – he heard some sniffles next to him. Gently he pulled the slightly shorter one into his arms while being careful not to spill any food that was laying around. Ren himself wasn’t that affected by the plot. Sure, it was sad, but it was no reason to cry for him.  </p><p>Yet he knew that Takumi was more emotional than him and needed that for a reason. In a way it was fascinating for Ren that watching sad movies and crying about those was a stress relief for the other one. He was right the opposite in that regard. He relieved stress by doing something fun or relaxing in the bath.   </p><p> In a way they were polar opposites, yet they fit together like two puzzles pieces. From the first moment he had seen Takumi more than a year ago, Ren had known that destiny had let them meet. Back then his feelings were far from the affections he was feeling for him now, but he had known already that he wanted to have him in his life in one way or another.   </p><p>Maybe it was no surprise that the longer he spent with the pink haired the deeper his feelings for him became, but that Takumi was feeling the same was a huge surprise. Actually, after realising the true nature of his feelings Ren hadn’t planned to confess. He often didn’t voice his personal feelings – unless they were work related. It was his own form of protecting his privacy. Only Takumi had managed to tear that wall down fully.    </p><p>The movie finished and Ren let Takumi cry a little longer before giving him a glass of water. “Drink. Your body needs fluids again and the sugar in the cola takes some of those.”  <br/>Takumi took the glass and finished it in one gulp. “Thanks.”   <br/>Besides crying quietly Takumi’s voice was a little hoarse, so Ren refilled the glass. “Are you okay? The week wasn’t too stressful to you?”  <br/>“No, it was okay. It’s just...”  <br/>“The new state of emergency coming up?”  <br/>“Yes.”  </p><p>It was a topic that worried all members. When it looked like they could finally start to be active like a proper group of their genre the regulations tightened again. Besides not being in their first year anymore, they barely had any live experience. They had barely any experience in their actual work and it was both frustrating and worrying.   <br/>“It’s okay. It’s not as strict this time and we got through the last one pretty well. And remember after every bad thing something good will follow.”  <br/>“I know.”   </p><p> Takumi returned into his arms, but still there seemed to be something that bordered him. “Is there more?”  <br/>“You are not comfy. There is something in your pocket?”  <br/>That was the now or never moment. Ren hadn’t thought of any moment when he could give the key, but it seemed like that moment came by itself. “Yes, there is.”  </p><p>“And what is it? Don’t tell me you wanted to prank me later.”  <br/>“Takkun, I would never. I’m not Sukai.”  <br/>“So, what is it?”  <br/>“A small gift for you.” When Takumi heard that his eyes started to sparkle – or maybe Ren imagined to see sparkles in eyes at that moment – so there was no way he could take a step back now.   </p><p>Hence, he took out the small box that contained the key and gave it to the other one. “I know it actually doesn’t make much sense in our situation, but well I want you to have it.”  <br/>For a moment Takumi looked shocked and he was shaking a little when opening the box.  </p><p>However, when he saw the content, he hit Ren in a playful way. “Reeeeeen, don’t play with me like that.”  <br/>“What? Did you expect something else?”  <br/>“With such a box? Maybe...” Takumi got flustered in this moment which caused his cheeks to have a similar shade as his hair.   </p><p> “It’s too early for this.” In fact, Ren hadn’t even thought about that option yet. He was happy with what they were now. Also, being public figures wasn’t helpful either. Maybe one day they would do that but maybe they would just stay as they are now. What he did now was just for them anyway. A sign that Takumi had special meaning for him. His door might be open for anyone most of the time, but Takumi was always welcome. “It’s my room key. I know we kinda live together already, so that action doesn’t have such a big significance as in the movie we watched last week, but I wanted you to have it anyway.”  </p><p>The moment might have been less big than what Takumi seemed to have expected, but Ren couldn’t help but feel nervous anyway. That Takumi’s face was somehow unreadable in that moment didn’t help either. Probably only a few seconds had passed until the younger one finally said something, but it felt far too long for Ren. “You gave me your room key?”  </p><p>“Yes. I know my room is always open for you and the other members when I’m here, but you should know that it’s truly always open for you. Even when I’m working on some solo schedule or something, you can come here if you want to.” This was the smallest biggest gesture Ren was able to do to affirm his feelings to the other one. He might not have to do such a thing, but he wanted to do that. He had agreed to follow Takumi’s pace in everything because he never wanted to overwhelm him. That’s why he had stayed patient until he was let into the other one’s room by his own will. Sure, sometimes he complained a little about that, but other members happened to do the same, thus it was just something like a running gag in their group.   </p><p>“Really?”   <br/>“Yes of course.” Ren had no idea how to interpret the other one’s reactions in that moment and it made him feel like he had overstepped his boundaries, especially when Takumi suddenly got up and left the room. His mood took a slump and he had no idea what to do. Should he follow Takumi? Should he apologise? Should he wait until Takumi would eventually return?   </p><p>Ren was about to write an apology via message when Takumi returned. “Takumi, I-”  <br/>However, before he could finish the sentence, Takumi took his hand and put something into it. “If you abuse that privilege and let Junki or Keigo into it, too, it will be the last thing you did.”  <br/>Only after the comment Ren realised that he had gotten a key from the other one, too. “Thank you.”  </p><p>That Takumi had given him his key, too, was unexpected. Especially if you consider that it had taken months for Ren to be allowed to enter his room.   <br/>“You are the only one I trust with this. Because you mean so much to me.” It was obvious that it was difficult, maybe even embarrassing in a way, for Takumi to voice this.   <br/>“Don’t worry. I will keep it safe.”   </p><p> Ren went over to his drawer and took out an old necklace. With a few nimble movements the key was attached to it. “What do you think?”  <br/>“You really have a thing for remaking stuff.” Takumi’s smile showed that he approved this way of keeping the gift safe.  <br/>“Do you want one, too? I still have some old necklaces here.”  <br/>“Sure.”  <br/>“Okay choose your favourite one.”  </p><p> Actually, he wondered why he hadn’t thought of that from the very beginning. It looked nice – and somewhat unsuspecting – this way. He could always have it close to him in a way.  <br/>It took some time for Takumi to decide which one he wanted. “Ren, the one you took... Is that from-?”  <br/>“So, you noticed it?”  <br/>“At first, I thought it’s just some random old necklace, but then I found this one.” The one Takumi held in that moment looked the same as the one Ren had chosen for his gift, it was just a little shorter. “You kept it?”  </p><p> “Yes. The staff back then told me I can keep it if I wanted and somehow, I wanted to do that.”  <br/>“Did it mean that much to you?”  <br/>“The stage was special, yes, and it made me realise how much you mean to me actually. Especially in the aftermath.” Back then Ren had realised for the first time, that it had been more than pure admiration for the other one. He liked him more than a friend, yet it had been still hard to name those feelings.  </p><p> “So long?” The pink haired one handed the necklace over, so that Ren could rework it, too.  <br/>“Back then I wasn’t sure what it was, but you were someone special to me already.”  <br/>“I’m so-”  <br/>“Don’t apologise. I told you from the start that we will do it at your pace.” Takumi’s pace might be slower than his own one in that regard, but he meant from the start that he was fine with going the other one’s pace. As long as Takumi was happy, he was happy, too. “Come closer.”  </p><p>Takumi did as asked and Ren put the necklace around his neck. “Done.”, he said before giving the younger one a kiss on his forehead.   <br/>“Thank you.”  <br/>“Thank you for trusting me that much.” Ren couldn’t help but smile in that moment. “Keep it safe. That’s also the key to my heart.”  <br/>“Don’t worry. I will.”, Takumi said with a smile and kissed him.   </p><p>Their situation wasn’t easy and they had been through a lot, but moments like this – when it was the two of them, affirming their feelings with small but big gestures – made everything worth it. No matter the shape their relationship would have in the future, they were meant to be – they could feel it in their hearts.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone!<br/>I'm proud to be a part of this huge Kawakawa project that was started by cjams for today.<br/>Some new Renkumi fluff to feed the staving nation.<br/>(Lapone, I'm waiting for the Kawakawa Bring it dance over)<br/>I hope you enjoyed it!<br/>See you~</p></blockquote></div></div>
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